Skimbleshanks
by Soozen
Summary: Part of the Cats series. Kyo and Tohru say goodbye in a train station.


Goodness! It's a new story from me, and it's not _Demon Days_! What is the world coming to?

Enjoy.

* * *

You could never expect the same thing twice, when taking the train. And that was what Haruku Matsui liked best about it. Of course, there were a lot of regularities to be expected; the same course was taken, the same stops at the same time each day, with the same regulars each sitting in their regular seats. But, each day, something different happened; dozens of new, different people boarded the train, and had their own different conversations. That, exactly, was why Haruku enjoyed taking the train to and from work.

He was in his late fifties, with a thinning head of grey hair, and a large stomach. His age didn't bother him much, as it did others; he was still very able to work, to move, to enjoy life in the way he wished, which is exactly what he did.

He enjoyed taking the train because of the conversations he listened to; not that anyone ever noticed he was listening. Oh no, he always made himself appear busy, reading the newspaper or something of the like. If others knew he was listening, he was sure they would converse in a slightly more secretive way, or choose not to talk at all, and that would do him no good.

Haruku liked to listen to elderly grandmother's talking to their grandchildren about what special place they were heading to that day, or older couples talking about their day. He listened to young businessmen debating politics or sports, and chuckled sometimes at their ideas. The younger generations certainly had strange ideas about how the world should be run, that was for sure.

On this particular day, Haruku had arrived at the train station fairly late for him; he did not have work today, as he decided to take the day off. Instead, he would spend most of his day on the train, doing exactly what he enjoyed. And, it had seemed, he had arrived early; the train was not to come for several more minutes. So, Haruku seated himself on what appeared to be the only vacant long bench in the train station.

Not long after, he was joined by two teens; he was immediately put off by this. As much as he enjoyed listening to conversations, the topics teens talked about hardly ever held his interest. It was all about the newest singers or actors, and who was the prettiest, or the skinniest, or some nonsense like that. Nothing worth talking about, in his opinion.

Also, their appearances put him off. They both, for one thing, were wearing school uniforms, which could only mean that they were cutting class. And, the boy had orange hair. Orange hair! Teens these days did the strangest things to themselves. The girl, thankfully, looked decent and normal enough; her hair was a nice, natural brown, pinned back by two bows, with no piercings or the like in sight.

"When's the train supposed to come, Kyo-kun?" the girl asked as the boy dropped onto the bench, slouching terribly.

"Soon," the boy, who's name apparently was Kyo, answered shortly. "You didn't have to come with me, you know. You're going to get in trouble for cutting."

"I know, but it's okay," the girl replied. "I just want to make sure you get away safely."

Get away? Hmm…he was probably running away from home. Stupid kids….

"I'll be fine. I've got everything I need." The boy patted a backpack at his feet. Haruku almost snorted. Everything he needs in that one bag? That boy would soon be in for a rude awakening. "Don't worry about me."

"I'll try," the girl said slowly, "but…couldn't you at least tell me where you're going?"

"I all ready told you; you can't know," the boy replied, practically snapping at her. "If you know, someone might get it out of you- Shigure or Hatori or someone- I don't know how, but they might. You- you just can't know, okay?"

"Sorry; I forgot." The girl paused. "What will you do when you get- there?"

The boy shrugged. "Get a job, of course. I'll look for a place to stay; someone's got to be looking for a roommate, or something. I'll figure it out as I go."

Figure it out? Haruku shook his head. That boy would get nowhere in life without an education; the very best thing he could do would be to go straight back home, make up with his parents, and get back in school. At least he wasn't taking this girl, presumably his girlfriend with him.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" The girl sounded genuinely worried.

"I told you, I'll be fine," the boy assured her.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" The girl suddenly turned and went rummaging through the school bag she had been carrying.

"What is it?" The boy asked.

"I bought you this," she said, and handed him something. Haruku shifted slightly to see what it was; black hair dye. He almost laughed; the boy had probably spent a decent amount of money to get that obnoxious color, and now she was trying to get him to dye it back.

"It's so you won't be recognized as easily," the girl said.

"…Thanks. Thanks a lot," the boy said, and Haruku was surprised by the sincerity in his voice. He was sure the boy would be offended.

Two thing happened at once; the boy stuffed the hair dye into his bag, and a train pulled into the station. Haruku checked his watch; it wasn't time for his train to arrive yet, but the boy stood up, picking up his bag as he did so. This was obviously his train.

"Is this it?" the girl asked, standing up as well.

"Yeah, it's my train," the boy said slowly.

There was a moment of silence between them.

"Be-be careful, Kyo-kun," the girl said softly, her voice shaking.

The boy nodded, almost absentmindedly. He was looking everywhere else but her.

The girl reached out and touched his hand, making the boy meet her eyes. He nodded again. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll be fine."

"I-I can't help it." The girl was biting her lips, quite obviously trying not to cry.

"Hey…. Hey, stop that," the boy said, and Haruku noticed his fingers tighten around hers. "Don't cry, Tohru…."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, using her free hand to cover her eyes.

"It's okay," the boy said. He awkwardly raised his hand up, hesitating slightly before putting his hand on top of her head. "It's okay," he said again. "I'll be okay."

Something was wrong with this touching scene, Haruku thought. Something with how they were standing, how they were acting, but what? Then it hit him; they weren't close to each other at all. They weren't in the usual embrace that most couples were in at moments such as these; there was no hugging, the girl wasn't leaning against him, or showing any inclination to either. There was a gap of about six inches or so between the two of them, and Haruku could not figure out why.

The boy slowly kissed her forehead; she looked up at him, tears clearly visible upon her cheeks, and he kissed her again, this time upon the lips.

"I have to go now," he whispered. "You-do you know the way back to school?"

The girl nodded, and adjusted the strap on her shoulder. She wiped her cheeks. "G-good luck, Kyo-kun…."

The boy nodded a third time, and slowly began backing away, his hand lingering on hers, until finally, he turned, and walked to board his train.

Haruku turned his attention back to the girl. She sniffled a bit, and seemed on the verge of sobbing, but managed to compose herself. She wiped her cheeks and adjusted her bag once more, then turned, and left the way she came, leaving Haruku to think about their strange encounter.

* * *

So...to explain this story.

I am a fan of musicals; total musical nerd. One of my favorites is Cats. In that play, the songs are only about different cats; their personalities, and parts of their lives. I'm trying to make a series based upon each of the songs, with each story focused on Kyo in some way. This particular story was based upon the song _Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat._

I am writing more for this series (among several other little writing projects); there's no telling when they'll be posted.

Please leave some constructive criticism.


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